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| India-Pakistan |
| TTP say US drones must stop before peace talks |
| 2013-10-03 |
| [Dawn] The Pak Taliban on Wednesday insisted US drone strikes in the country's northwest must stop before they will consider peace talks with the government. The main Pak political parties last month backed a government proposal to seek negotiations with the bad boys, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the state since 2007. The main umbrella Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) faction responded with a list of preconditions, including a government ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border where the gunnies have hideouts. TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid told AFP any ceasefire must include an end to US drone attacks in the tribal areas, which have been targeting suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda gunnies since 2004. "A ceasefire alone is not sufficient. The stoppage of drone strikes is essential, otherwise, if drones continue to strike, we will not accept the ceasefire," Shahid said. The Pakistain government publicly criticises the strikes as counterproductive and a violation of illusory sovereignty, but Washington considers them an effective tool in the fight against militancy. The TTP's demand adds a new challenge to the already bleak prospects for talks, hit hard by three attacks in a week in the northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , which killed 142 people, the vast majority civilians. The scale of the violence shocked Pakistain and prompted vehement denials of responsibility from the TTP central leadership. Past peace deals with the Taliban have quickly broken down and been sharply criticised for allowing the gunnies time to regroup before fresh attacks. |
| Posted by:Fred |